


did you really mean that?

by ominousbears



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alcohol, Drunken Confessions, Drunkenness, Gender-Neutral Apprentice (The Arcana), Minor Violence, Named Apprentice (The Arcana), Non-Graphic Violence, Other, Public Display of Affection, but listen i love my disaster kids a whole lot so u gotta hear about em too, drunken fighting, i've never written drunkenness before so pls have mercy ;;
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-14 20:23:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18483703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ominousbears/pseuds/ominousbears
Summary: Maza and Lucio have been messing around for years upon years now, their relationship stretching all the way back to Lucio's mercenary days, but they still haven't really addressed their feelings for one another since they're both oblivious with no hope of any real conclusion.Well, at least until a bit of liquor enters the picture.





	did you really mean that?

**Author's Note:**

> come hang out with me on [tumblr](http://ominousbears.tumblr.com/) or on [twitter](https://twitter.com/ominousbears) ✌
> 
> or, talk to me more about arcana-specific stuff on [my arcana sideblog](http://apprentauli.tumblr.com/) 💖

Tonight was not the first night Maza had to deal with a drunken Lucio, and somehow they highly doubted it would be the last.

The Masquerade had only been put on a few times in the past, being a fairly new tradition in the city, but it already seemed to be a hit with the people. This year’s proceedings were already almost over, much to the dismay and disappointment of most guests present. Maza, however, was glad for its end. As much as they enjoyed having a bit of fun every once in a while, something as big as a Masquerade was bound to grate on them after days and days of celebration, and some rest felt necessary.

Maza found themself seeking a bit of respite now as they sat back on one of the lounge couches around the edge of the ballroom, their discarded overcoat draped over the back of it and mask resting on top of their head. Idly watching guests spin around in the center of the floor, laughing and dancing their hearts out, they sighed deeply and closed their eyes, relaxing further into the cushions.

“‘Eeeey,  _ there _ you are, Maza!!”

They blinked out of their brief reverie and glanced up just as Lucio wandered into view, a wide grin stretched across his face, already flushed pink. His expression turned quizzical then, seeing them seated on the couch before him. “What’re ya doin’ all th’ way over here?” he asked, plucking a drink off a passing servant’s tray. “You’re missin’ out on all th’ fun!”

Maza propped their elbow up on the arm of the couch and rested their head against their fist. “Party was starting to wear on me, that’s all,” they replied, watching him and noting the unsteadiness in his gait as he stepped closer. “Are you okay? You’re wobbling.”

“Pssshhhh, ‘m  _ fine _ !” he insisted, waving their complaints away. “No needta worry tha’ pretty lil head, ‘m doin’ jus’ fine.” He tipped his head back and chugged half his glass in one go, exhaling contentedly and roughly wiping his mouth of any remaining liquor.

Maza narrowed their eyes as they studied him. “You’re already drunk,” they deadpanned. Not a question, but a statement.

Lucio winked as a slow grin spread across his face. “Maaaybe,” he admitted, shrugging and accidentally spilling some of his drink on the floor in the process, “‘S  _ my _ Masquerade, I can do what I want!” He squinted at them and frowned suspiciously, an expression that almost made Maza laugh. “You haven’t even had anythin’ yet, have you?”

They raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t drink a lot, Lucio,” they reminded him, picking up an almost-empty champagne flute off the table beside them, “but I  _ have _ had a little bit so far. It’s only been an hour since I last saw you anyway.”

His brow furrowed as he looked down at their glass. “Tha’s nothing!” he protested, pouting when Maza just shrugged nonchalantly in response. “You’re no fun.” He dropped down onto the couch beside them with a soft thud, letting out a huff and a hiccup. Silence stretched between them for a moment longer before Lucio laid his head back against the wall, staring lazily at the decorations on the high ceiling and asking, “You  _ are _ havin’ fun though, yeah? You’d tell me if y’ weren’t?” He glanced at them out of the corner of his eye.

Maza shot him a quizzical look as they raised their glass to their lips. “Now where’s  _ this _ coming from?” they teased, downing the last of their champagne. “You’re not getting all soft on me now, are you?”

Lucio rolled his eyes, over-exaggerating so much that his entire head followed the motion. “ _ Z _ ,” he deadpanned, giving them an unimpressed look.

“ _ Luce _ ,” they retorted, letting out a chuckle that turned into a loud laugh when he tried to shove their shoulder but missed, overbalancing and falling across their lap.

Lucio sat up just a bit, electing instead to lean heavily into their side, his face squished against their shoulder and his good arm snaking around their waist, as he sighed and mumbled something entirely incoherent under his breath.

Maza snorted and slung their own arm around his neck, messily ruffling his hair at the same time. “What was that?” they smirked as they glanced down at him. “Not sure I heard what you said there,  _ birthday boy, _ gonna have to repeat yourself.”

“Tha’s weird,  _ you’re _ weird,” he grumbled, “I jus’ said ‘I love you’ anyway.”

Maza’s teasing expression fell away to shock and dismay. “Excuse me?” they whispered with a strangled breath.

Lucio scoffed and straightened, taking his weight off of them and peering at them seriously, though its effect was lessened by the unfocused look in his eye. “Y’ heard me,” he slurred. “D’ya really need me to repeat m’self?” He raised his glass to his lips, making a quiet noise of displeasure when he found it empty, its contents having been spilled all over the floor at some earlier point.

Maza could hear their own blood rushing in their ears as they stood up, clutching their empty champagne flute as their heart thudded against their ribcage. They needed some air, and they needed it  _ now _ . “N-no, uh, that’s fine,” they stammered, inwardly cursing themself for their unsteady voice, “but hey, um, I’m gonna go get another drink, do you want one?”

His face lit up, bringing a slight flush of color to their cheeks despite the circumstances. “D’ya even needta ask? Good t’ see ya finally relaxin’ though, Z!” he laughed.

Distinctly conscious of the extreme tension humming through their body, they gave a nod and an uneasy grin and stepped away into the crowd, pulling their mask back over their face to hide the growing blush.

Normally, a crowd of this size wouldn’t even faze Maza; their presence alone would send people scrambling in an effort to get out of their way. But now? Now Maza felt keenly the pressure of bodies moving on all sides, disorienting and confusing them. They  _ also _ felt their irritation rising rapidly within their gut as they all but shoved affronted partygoers out of their path, stepping through the throngs of people faster and faster until finally--

Cool, fresh air had never seemed like such a blessing until that moment, when it burst across their skin and cast away the stuffy, suffocating feeling of the inner palace. Maza strode over to the balustrade with purpose, resting their over-warm hands on the refreshingly cold marble, and let out a deep breath, relief flooding their system when they felt their heartbeat begin to slow to a normal pace.

They pulled their mask off with a sigh and pinched the bridge of their nose in thought. What was all  _ that _ about? One throwaway remark, and suddenly their heart goes into overdrive?  _ Come on, Maza,  _ they thought, _ get it together for fuck’s sake. He’s drunk as hell anyway, so it’s not like it even mat-- _

The near-silent click of a boot heel against marble sent Maza jumping a foot off the ground, whirling around to face the noise. Instead of Lucio, like some part of them dreaded (why _ dreaded? _ ), it was Julian who stood there, hands up in surrender and eyes wide with surprise. Sighing heavily, they let the tension bleed from their body as they leaned against the balustrade. “Funny seeing you here, isn’t it?” they asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Is that so?” he jested with a smirk as he approached their side. His expression gave way to something more like concern then, looking them over with an observant eye. “What’s going on, Maza? You all but ran out here, and I’ve never known  _ you _ of all people to be shaken so easily.”

They bristled at that, turning a stony glare his way and tersely muttering, “None of your business,  _ Doctor _ .”

He raised his hands in surrender once more, an easy grin stretching across his face in response. “Alright, alright,” he shrugged, moving to stand up fully, “forget I asked then--”

Maza reached out suddenly, hand grasping at his sleeve before he could leave. “Wait-! Wait, that’s… that’s not what I meant,” they sighed, letting go and running a hand through their hair when he looked down at them in clear shock. “I just…  _ ugh _ . Lucio said some weird shit just now and I don’t… I don’t know how to feel about it.”

“What? What’d he say?”

They made a face then, something like an uncomfortable half-grimace. “He…” they hesitated, voice trailing off into a near-inaudible mumble as they felt their cheeks warm ever so slightly. “He said he loves me.”

Julian gave them a confused look at that, asking, “Is that bad??”

Maza groaned as they pinched the bridge of their nose again in exasperation. “I don’t know! It just feels like it’s coming out of nowhere.”

“You two are  _ this _ far into your relationship and you haven’t said ‘I love you’ yet?”

They made a strangled noise, breath leaving them as their eyes went wide and a blush erupted across their face. “W-we’re not in a relationship though!?” they protested, staring up at Julian in bewilderment.

He raised an eyebrow. “Really? Because it sure as hell looks like it from the outside,” he commented, gesturing towards Maza. They opened their mouth as if to argue, but closed it again and gave a noncommittal ‘hmph’. Julian raised a hand and began to count off on his fingers. “I mean, you’re always teasing and flirting with each other,” he said, pressing one finger down. “You can’t seem to keep your hands off each other.” A second. “Been sleeping together for God knows how long.” A third. “And that’s not even  _ mentioning _ the whole amputation incident--”

“Okay, fuck, I get it!” they exclaimed, rising to their feet and stomping a short distance away before whirling back to face him again, “Damn! So maybe I  _ do _ love him, is that what you want me to say, Devorak?! Want me to go back in there, find his scrawny little ass, and say ‘I love you’?!”

“ _ What?? _ ”

Horror spread like ice through Maza’s veins as they twisted around to see Lucio (the  _ one _ person they’d wanted to avoid for now, _ fuck _ ) standing in the archway, looking back and forth between them and Julian with growing resentment and drunken rage. Behind them, Julian only seemed to grow more and more nervous, all color draining from his face. “Oh shit,” he muttered, trying to sidestep away as inconspicuously as possible, “Oh fuck. Uh. I’ll just uh. I’ll just leave you two--”

Lucio shot him a glare so cold it froze him in place. “No you will th’  _ fuck  _ not, Jules,” he growled, stalking forward.

Maza stepped between them, levelling Lucio with a hard look of their own and digging their fingertips into his shoulders. The smell of alcohol flooded their senses as he breathed hard into their face. Still drunk then. “Stop, Luce, it’s not--”

Wordlessly pushing past them and closing the distance to Julian as he grabbed a fistful of his jacket, Lucio pulled the other man down to his level and swung wide, slamming his good fist straight into Julian’s face with a loud  _ thwack! _

Maza jumped and stormed to his side, hitting his good arm to get his attention. “What the  _ hell _ , Lucio?! What’s your deal tonight?!” they scolded, glowering at him.

“I know what I fuckin’ _ heard _ , Maza!” he shouted as he returned their scowl with one of his own. “You told  _ him _ you loved him, an’--”

“That’s not what fucking happened, jackass!” they retorted, glaring daggers now. This man was absolutely  _ insufferable _ at times!

Julian, silent thus far, suddenly spoke up. “Alright, you two,” he interjected, blood from a cut made by one of Lucio’s rings smearing across his lip, “I’m sure if we all just calm down, we c--”

“Shut up, Julian!!” the two of them yelled simultaneously, both turning their glares on him. Julian jumped but fell silent, squirming under the intensity of their stares.

Lucio sneered, fist tightening until the knuckles turned white and reared back for another blow, but before he could--

Maza yanked on his cape, making him face them again. “Can you fucking stop and  _ listen _ to me for all of five seconds?!” they yelled, exasperated.

“No!” he snapped, protesting in true Lucio fashion; indignant and loud. “‘S gonna take you away from me, an’ I’m not lettin’ that ‘appen!” His muscles tensed as he raised his fist again, but this time, instead of merely distracting him, Maza let out an irritated snarl and seized his face with both hands. Startled, Lucio could give only a short yelp before they forcefully yanked him down to kiss him.

The kiss itself was rough, especially at first, when their teeth clacked so hard against his that they had to wince. Lucio, frozen in their grasp, suddenly surged forward, his grip on Julian's shirt falling slack as he moved his golden claw to the nape of Maza's neck and dug the points into the skin there. They could taste the remnants of alcohol still on his tongue mixed with the iron tang of blood from someone’s split lip, though Maza couldn’t tell which of them it was from. Their lips met like that again and again, fierce and hungry and  _ wanting _ , all their desperation and pent-up frustrations pouring out into this singular event like a waterfall pours into a lake. 

But eventually, the two of them had no more breath to give and thus broke apart, panting like they'd just run two marathons each and staring at each other with some small sense of apprehension and wonder. “Wha… wha’ was that about?” Lucio breathed, still dazed.

Maza's eyes hardened then. “We were talking about  _ you _ , jackass!!” they hissed as they punched his golden arm, wincing when their fist clanged against the hard surface and muttering, “ _ Fuck _ , I don't know what I expected.”

“Wait, so, so you an’ Jules aren't-- wait where'd he go??” He spun around, cape fluttering behind him as he searched the balcony for the now-absent doctor who seemed to have slipped out while the two of them were otherwise occupied. He frowned and made a short noise of disappointment, turning back to face Maza, who returned his stare with one of their own, brow furrowed thoughtfully as they watched him. “What??” he asked, bewildered.

Maza snickered under their breath and stepped towards him. “You’re such a possessive dick, I swear to God,” they muttered affectionately, gaze irritated yet soft as they reached out and swept their thumb across his lower lip, wiping away blood that welled up from a cut there. They shook their head gently and let out a breathy laugh. “What the hell am I going to do with you?”

“I can think of a few things,” Lucio answered coolly, grinning when Maza snorted in response.

“You’ve been spending too much time with Julian,” they chuckled. He shrugged noncommittally, drawing another laugh from them, though they grew more serious after a moment. “Lucio,” they began, swallowing harshly, “did you… actually mean what you said back there? Right before I left?”

“Wha-- oh, when I said ‘I love you’?”

Maza glanced away, heat rising to their cheeks. “Yes. That.”

“Hmm, ‘course I meant it.” He paused, gears turning in his head when they didn’t respond, then looked back at them in smug realisation. “Why, d’you love me toooo?” he teased, voice rising into an awful singsong pitch.

“Oh my god,  _ stop _ ,” they laughed, playfully shoving him away when he leaned in, lips pursed overdramatically. “You joke, but…” In a brief moment of clarity, Lucio blinked in surprise, silent for once. “...I think I do? Love you, I mean,” they clarified, a blush erupting on their skin when his eyes grew wide. “I don’t know for sure yet, but I  _ think _ I do. I-I don’t know, we can talk about it more when you’re sober.” They glanced over him, still standing frozen and staring at them. “Are we good now, then?”

He let out a breath, ruffling their hair unintentionally. “Maza,” Lucio murmured, relishing in the feeling of their name rolling across his tongue despite the number of times he’d already said it before, “I…” He leaned forward almost subconsciously, eyelids fluttering shut as he drew closer.

“No,” Maza said firmly, pushing his shoulders back before his lips could meet their own. “you’re drunk, Lucio. I don’t want to take advantage of you like that.”

“Kissed me earlier,” he grumbled with a pout.

They shot him a look at that. “I couldn’t think of something else to get you to stop,” they insisted coolly, rolling their eyes, “it’s not like you were listening to anything I was actually  _ saying _ .”

Lucio sighed heavily, dropping his forehead onto their shoulder and bringing his hands up to rest on their hips. “Love you,” he mumbled, almost incoherent in his enunciation.

Maza hummed in response and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “I love you too, dove,” they whispered, trying to ignore the fluttering sensation in their chest from saying it out loud and running a hand over his hair instead. “Really though, are we good? I don’t want to have to break up a fight as soon as you see Julian again,” they teased, chuckling at his indignant scoff.

“Yeah,” he muttered, “we’re good now.”

“Alright, good. Do you want to head back to the party soon? Or would you rather turn in early? You seem tired.”

He scoffed again, the sensation of it vibrating across their skin, and turned his head just enough to meet their eye. “An’ miss my own party? Not happenin’.” Pressing a chaste kiss to the side of their neck, he straightened and flashed them a smirk. “After you,  _ Captain _ .”

Maza rolled their eyes but took Lucio’s hand in theirs, feeling a surge of warm affection in their chest when he grinned back and replaced their mask on their face for them, and strode purposefully back through the archway together to rejoin the Masquerade.

The remainder of the evening found the two of them practically attached at the hip, an arm always slung around one of their waists, drawing them closer into each other (a sight which Julian would be loathe to let Maza live down; every time they saw him, he would lift his mask to raise an eyebrow and grin smugly as if to say “I told you so”. Maza, in turn, flipped him off at every available opportunity). Lucio, in his drunken state, seemed to be noticeably fixated on them, pressing kisses to their temples and the space just below their ears at any given moment, dragging them out to the center of the ballroom floor for yet  _ another _ dance, and so on, and so forth. Maybe he  _ was _ going soft, Maza thought, like they’d joked so much earlier in the night. It would certainly explain more than a few things.

But if, at the end of the night in their shared bed, Lucio  _ happened _ to fall asleep draped over half of their chest, having finally passed out from all the liquor he’d drunk throughout the evening? Then far be it from them to shove him off and deprive him of that gentler intimacy until the morning. They’d simply flatten a hand over his back and hold him closer, letting their own eyes slide shut and drifting off into slumber themself.

And anyway, even if just for the time being, they wouldn’t really  _ have to _ admit they were beginning to crave that sort of intimacy too, would they?


End file.
